I have decided to go full on ketosis. What is ketosis? Simply put, it’s the state your body gets in when it’s burning stored fat. The only way to get into ketosis is to drastically cut out carbs so that your body will have to burn something stored for energy, rather than the incoming carbs. Now, this is just an ultra simple explanation of what ketosis is. I recommend reading more into it before just diving in head first. I have actually been on ketosis before in the past, I have read into it a good amount and experimented with it myself to be comfortable enough to just do it.
The most important thing for me though is that I still eat delicious food. I have dieted in the past just eating chicken breasts with no seasonings, lots of salads with the same dressing, bland soups, etc. I’ve done it all. But luckily for me (for all of us actually) we know much more about food and nutrition and have easy access to specialty ingredients, so that we don’t have to sacrifice flavor to be healthy.
This Short Rib Korean BBQ is low sugar. Almost all the Korean BBQ or marinade recipes I’ve seen online use SO MUCH SUGAR. Although I’ve adapted this recipe to be super low sugar, in my house we never used that much sugar. My mom “got woke” after her and my dad got diabetes (just following the good ole’ American diet of cereal for breakfast, bread all day, ice cream for dessert). She used to make a natural sweetener by boiling down a bunch of apples and even that she used sparingly. She was pretty hardcore. Now she has Truvia. 🙂
The sake is replacing Mirin (or Mirim, the Korean one). Pure Grade A Dark Maple Syrup for sugar, Zevia Lemon Lime for 7-Up, and Liquid Aminos for soy sauce. Wait, what? 7-up? Zevia?! Yup, ask any Korean mom, 7-up (not Sprite, maybe Sprite, definitely not a first choice though) is a well-known ingredient in L.A. Galbi. So naturally, I thought to try the healthier alternative to 7-up.
I don’t like to drink Zevia on it’s own, it has a weird Stevia sticky overly-sweetness I’ve never liked. But in the marinade, it adds that touch of sweetness that usually the typical combo of Mirin, sugar, and 7-Up would provide.
Mmmm, MEAT.
Ok, so you see that one 2nd to the right? People! Be vigilant at the meat counter! That one is the only one I didn’t get a clear look at and of course, it has a shit ton of useless fat. That fat right there weighed about 0.25 oz. To put it in perspective, half of that rib cut is bone, so that fat makes up half of what was supposed to be the meat serving. That is no small amount of wasted fat.
1. Separate the meat from the bones
2. Filet the meat pieces into about 3/8″ inch, that’s in between 1/4″ and 1/2″ inch
3. Marinade overnight
The dude LOVES garlic roasted in sesame oil. Make a foil pouch, fill it with garlic cloves, drizzle some sesame oil and a pinch of salt. Close pouch, place on grill and leave it there while the meat is cooking. Give it a good shake every so often. Alternatively, if you’re broiling your ribs leave pouch in oven on a small tray. No need to shake.
Notes: T. t. cup 4 oz.
You can substitute the Liquid Aminos with Tamari or Soy Sauce.
You can substitue sake with soju or mirin. OR if you have mirin, you can sub the sake and Zevia. Just know your mirin might have other ingredients in it, commonly corn syrup.
Grade A Dark is the new industry name for Grade B.
Any sweet ripe pear should work but I’ve only tried Anjou and Asian pears.
The amount of ginger I use is far less than what you’re used to seeing in other Korean BBQ recipes. I like only a subtle hint of ginger in my Korean BBQ. If you love ginger, by all means add some more. Don’t go too crazy though.
White pepper is totally optional. If you have it, add some. Why not.
Short Rib Korean BBQMakes 4 servings. Active time: 30 minutes + overnight marinade
- 4 lbs beef short ribs
- 1/2 cup Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
- 1/4 cup sake
- 1/4 cup lemon lime Zevia
- 1/2 small onion, chopped roughly
- 1/2 very ripe pear, chopped roughly
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 thin slice ginger
- 1 T. Grade A Dark Pure Maple Syrup
- 1 t. roasted sesame oil
- 1/8 t. white pepper
- several grinds black pepper
- 1/2 cup water
Make the marinade:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend well (I use an immersion blender). Set aside
Get meat ready:
First separate the meat from the bone by slicing through that stringy white fat stuff (I can not find the term in Google, you’ll see what I mean). Trim the obvious pieces of fat. I like to leave the thin layers of fat. Filet the meat into about 3/8″ inch thick. That is between 1/4″ to 1/2″ inch thick. The best way to filet is the lay the meat wide side down, lay your secondary hand flat firmly on top of the meat. With your main hand, slice horizontally 3/8″ inch from the bottom. I like to look at the meat sideways while slicing to make sure my cuts are even.
Rinse the bones in running water, pay attention to where the bone cuts are and rub away any loose bone fragments. Rinse the meat and bones together in a few changes of clean cold water. (Rinsing raw meat in water is a thing? Yup, it’s to get rid of some of the blood. This will give the meat a cleaner, less “beefy” taste)
Marinade the meat:
Lay down a layer of meat/bone in your container, give the marinade a good stir then pour some over the meat. Place another layer of meat/bone, pour over more marinade. Repeat until done.
Cooking the meat:
The best way is to grill over charcoal. Next would be a gas grill and then lastly, under the broiler. I would not pan fry these. You really need that char you only get from open fire. Flip often. Cook to your preference and serve with Ssam, Ssamjang., and the roasted garlic.
The bones need to be cooked a little bit longer and you should turn it on it’s meat side on the grill (the bit of meat that’s on the edges of the bone). The bones are ready when the meat has pulled away from the bone a bit at the edge. The bone meat and cartilage is one of my favorite parts. Gnaw away!
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